Sandi,
Glad to hear you aren't going to tow with that Explorer.
The problem is....you can get a false sense of security towing.
Say you hook it up and take off down the road.
At first you go 25 MPH expecting it to do "God only knows what".
It seems to be fine so you increase your speed and it still feels good.
Now you are crusing down the highway at 55 MPH, calling us all a bunch of
dumb dumbs.
Along comes an 18 wheeler at 75 MPH and blows you and the trailer completely
off the road.

But Sandi, I will tow your camper for you if you want!!

However, we have to share the site. :)

Hi,
The Explorer doesn't make a good tow vehicle no matter what the weight
of the TT.  It's the short wheel base that is the biggest problem.
Towing small pop ups maybe because they normally don't get moved around
that much by wind or passing trucks.

AWD is usually some type of special coupling that sends power to the
non drive wheels when the drive wheels start slipping.  Can it be locked
in or out  in some vehicles?  Don't know.  But the question was is it
better to have it engaged (if that's an option) while towing.

Take care and Happy Campin...

My fathers 2004 Explorer is AWD. He lives in a very hilly city that gets
alot of snow and claims for his use, it's the best four wheel drive he's
ever owned. AWD works great for vehicles that aren't used for serious off
road use...and I'd believe that close to 100% of all late model Explorers
will never be used in rock crawling or as swamp buggies.

I have been camping for decades...I followed the usual procession; two
person tent and a canoe, four person tent (to fit myself, wife and dog) a
couple of popup tent campers. The popup camper seemed to act like a rain
maker; every time it was set up the weather would change and it would rain
for weeks. Then I purchased a 21' light weight travel trailer and towed it
with a 1995 Chev Tahoe. The 350 engine pulled the camper with ease, but
every time I met a semi on the hwy, it was white knuckle time...the trailer
would indeed wag the dog. Side winds in the great plains states were
terrible...I was virtually all over my lane. I figured it was a fact of life
as the Tahoe is only a foot or so shorter than a Suburban. Traveling with
the travel trailer was no fun at all but I figured it must be a fact of
life.

I updated my tow vehicle to a full sized Chevrolet pickup with an extended
cab, short box. The wheel base on this vehicle was much longer than the
Tahoe. This truck with the 21' trailer combination towed like it was on
rails. I couldn't believe the difference. I now have a 26' TT and extended
cab pickup. This too handles the wind and meeting tractor/trailers very
well.

Don't ignore the advice regarding short wheel base vehicles...it's 100%
true. I used to "hate" my cross country trips with my stomach in knots and
white knuckles on the steering wheel. The rig couldn't seem to go a minute
without being jerked to one side or the other. Now I love the behind the
wheel time.